Ladder attachment



E. oTTERsoN 2,503,35 l

April 11, 195o l LADDER ATTACHMENT Filed oct. 9, 194e 1A? lf i e. slug W23 Hlzz D z' u Irwell-tor Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LADDER ATTACHMENT Einar Otterson, Bemidji, Minn.

Application October 9, 1946, Serial N0. 702,311

(Cl. 22S- 60) 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a novel and improved attachment which is detachably connectable with the upper end of a ladder, whenever necessary or desirable, and which is adapted to function as ladder bracing and stabilizing means.

More particularly, the invention appertains to an elongated, horizontally disposable brace which is securely attachable to the upper ends of the hand-rails of a conventional painters ladder, said brace being adapted to extend at right angles to the rails and ibeing adapted to span window openings and being interposed between the building wall and ladder in a manner to adequately and safely retain the ladder in` a steady state to facilitate and expedite glazing, pointing, and painting of window sashes, this in a safe and satisfactory manner.

In lcarrying out the preferred embodiments of the invention, I employ a brace of the above mentioned character, said brace being such in style and construction to amply sustain the ladder in an ,advantageous position while, at the same time, ounteracting any tendency toward accidental slipping or shifting of the ladder to a dangerous angular position.

An object of the invention is, obviously, to properly balance and steady the ladder after it has been set up for use and to accomplish this in .a manner which substantially banishes fear of being thrown from an otherwise easy to topple ladder.

In carrying out the principles of the invention, the brace is suitably attached to the upper ends of said rails by harness-like adapters and is provided, adjacent opposite outer ends, with shiftable spacing blocks, the blocks resting in properly arranged, angular positions against the building wall, affording a firmly established and reliable position, to the end that the ladder is suitably and safely propped against the building, whereby to overcome the likelihood of slippage and consequent tippling.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more easily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing .a portion of a building with a window, a portion of a conventional ladder, and the improved attachment in place on the ladder and in use against the building.

Figure 2 is an enlarged and elevational view of the structure seen in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of one of the harness-like adapter devices.

Figure 4 is a section taken approximately on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a section on the plane of the line 5 5 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, the ladder being removed.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference characters, it will be seen that the building, as a unit, is denoted by the reference character A, the window is denoted at B, and the ladder at C, said ladder including the customary vertical hand rails at D, and interconnecting rungs or rounds E.

Considering, now, the attachment, this comprises, essentially, a brace or stabilizing member 6, the same being a piece of timber or equivalent stock of appropriate length. In practice, it should be of a length to span and reach beyond the ordinary window. The opposite ends are bifurcated and the furcations l and 8 have their outer free ends separably and adjustably bolted together, as at 9. The furcations, in each instance, serve to accommodate a bolt l0 (see Fig. 2) mounted in a spacing block, or so-called shoe Il. The upper end of the shoe is arcuately curved, as at I2, and the inner face is perpendicularly disposed and nat, as at i3, to rest against the building wall. The bolt I0 passes through a bore in the block and then outwardly through and beyond the furcations, where it is provided with a wing-nut I4 for convenient adjustment purposes. Thus, we have a block at right angles to the inner surface of the bifurcated end portion, at each end -of the brace, said block being shiftable to allow it to be adequately and satisfactorily positioned for best use. It is to be noted, too, that one face of the block is provided with a shallow notch l5 serving as a seat for the bifurcated ends and to facilitate maintenance of the assembled parts. Incidentally, the numerals I6, adjacent opposite ends of the brace, represent hooks to support paint buckets and the like. It follows, therefore, that at each end of the brace I provide shiftable spacing blocks and provide hooks inwardly of the blocks for use in an obvious manner.

Harness-like adapter devices are saddled over the upper curved ends of the rails D, said devices being denoted by the numerals I l. These devices are counterparts of one another, and therefore a description of one will suce for both.

To this end, each device is constructed of heavy leather or light-Weight metal straps. The saddle strap is denoted by the numeral I8 and one thereof riveted, or otherwise secured, as at I9, to the intermediate portion of the horizontal strap `20, whose ends are connected with stirrup loops 2| through which the brace 6 passes and is thus shiftably or adjustably mounted, The horizontal complemental strap 22 on the opposite side of the saddle is connected with said loops and also provided with a buckle 23 to facilitate tightening the loops against opposite inner and outer faces of the adjacent rail. It follows that the brace is saddled and buckled detachably on the upper ends of the rails and is shiftable back and forth to obtain the best balancing positions. In addition, the spacing blocks or shoes are individually adjustable, whereby to contribute their function to obtaining balanced and stabilized results.

The invention is simple, economical, sturdy, reliable, and otherwise aptly tted to accomplish intended and advantageous results.

In view oi the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention that the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit oi the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a structural assemblage of the class shown and described, in combination, a ladder embodying vertical hand rails connected together with rungs, a horizontal cross brace at right angles to said hand rails, said brace having its end portions projecting beyond said hand rails, spacing and supporting blocks shiftably mounted on the end portions of said cross brace, and harnesslike adapters detachably harnessing said brace in operative position on the upper end portions of said hand rails, each adapter embodying longitudinally spaced stirrup forming loops, a, pair of opposed auxiliary straps connecting said loops together, the intermediate portion of one auxiliary strap straddling the coacting hand rail, and a saddling strap disposed at right angles to said auxiliary straps, said saddling strap having its intermediate portion hung over the adjacent upper end of the coacting hand rail, having its opposite ends secured to the respective intermediate portions of the stated auxiliary straps, the end portions of said brace passing through and being hung in said loops.

EINAR OT'IERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 Number Name Date 72,041 Hirlinger Dec. 10, 1867 325,441 Pearson Sept. 1, 1885 474,406 Ramsey May 10, 1892 1,004,284 Lehmann Sept. 26, 1911 1,471,848 Johnson Oct. 23, 1923 1,563,700 Frankenstein Dec. l, 1925 1,645,879 Skeels Oct. 18, 1927 2,327,317 Randall Aug. 17, 1943 

